Business leaders in manufacturing are continuing to invest in technologies like big data analytics and IoT as a means to solve business problems, according to a recent report from Honeywell. The report, released Tuesday, showed that 67% of respondents were planning on investing in these areas, even as they lower spending elsewhere.

The survey was titled Data’s Big Impact on Manufacturing: A Study of Executive Opinions, and was a joint effort between Honeywell Process Solutions (HPS) and KRC Research. The report was made up of responses from 200 executives in the manufacturing space.

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The focus on data analytics is key, because it’s a core component of the division of the IoT known as the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT).

“Executives need to keep their businesses running smoothly and safely, and they’re banking on IIoT technologies to help navigate challenges, even during cash-strapped times,” Andrew Hird, vice president and general manager of HPS Digital Transformation, said in the report.

The report noted that the majority of companies represented in the survey said they were already investing in data analytics technology in some way or another. For the businesses that weren’t planning on investing in the technology, the main reasons were either because they didn’t clearly understand the potential benefits, or they didn’t have the resources.

Many manufacturers are pursuing technologies like IIoT and big data, because they see them as a means of maximizing revenue, the report said. Unscheduled downtime and supply chain management issues were listed by respondents as the top two threats to revenue, but they are both issues that these technologies could potentially speak to.

Survey respondents said that they believed big data analytics could help lower incidents of:

  • Equipment breakdowns – 70%
  • Unscheduled downtime – 68%
  • Unscheduled maintenance – 64%
  • Supply chain management issues – 60%

“It’s easy to put that puzzle together–these executives correctly believe data analytics can help them combat the biggest threat they see to business: Unscheduled downtime,” Hird said in the report. “This is why they feel it makes sense to continue investing.”

Still, not everyone is on board. Of the respondents, 32% said they aren’t currently investing, and 33% said they don’t plan on investing in analytics within the next year. Here are the main reasons listed as to why these executives are not investing:

  • 61% said they believe their organizations already have systems in place to ensure safety, yield and success
  • 45% said their companies have seen some growth without data analytics
  • 42% said they don’t fully understand the benefits of big data
  • 35% believe people are overstating the benefits of big data

The 3 big takeaways for TechRepublic readers

  1. According to a Honeywell report, 67% of manufacturers are investing in big data and industrial IoT as a means to combat business issues.
  2. Unscheduled downtime and supply chain issues were listed as the biggest threats to revenue, which executives hope to mitigate with these technologies.
  3. The remaining 32% were not investing in analytics because they felt the benefits weren’t clear, or they didn’t have the proper resources to do so.